Reports: Broncos hire Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator

The Denver Broncos have hired Wade Phillips to be their defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports. ESPN's Ed Werder was first to report the news.

The Denver Broncos have hired Wade Phillips to be their defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports. ESPN's Ed Werder was first to report the news. 

Phillips would join the Denver coaching staff under new head coach Gary Kubiak, who was also the head coach with the Houston Texans when Phillips was the team's defensive coordinator. 

The Broncos are seeking to replace Jack Del Rio, who left the Broncos to become the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. 

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Phillips, 67, began his NFL coaching career in 1976 and has been a full-time head coach for three teams, as well as an interim head coach for three other teams, including the Texans after Kubiak's firing in 2013. He was not retained when Bill O'Brien took over. 

This would be Phillips' second stint with the Broncos. He was the team's defensive coordinator from 1989 to 1992 and the head coach in 1993 and 1994. 

- Dan Gartland